Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
Former Congresswoman, R-FL - Spring '19
Former U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) served for almost three decades as a member of Congress representing diverse areas in South Florida.
Rep. Ros-Lehtinen was the Chairwoman emeritus of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). In these roles, she led on pressing foreign policy issues, including championing the advancement of freedom and democracy for all, fighting Islamist extremism; supporting free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea; and imposing sanctions on human rights violators in Venezuela.
Prior to becoming the Chairwoman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Ros-Lehtinen served as Chair of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia; International Operations and Human Rights; International Economic Policy and Trade; and Africa; and as Vice-Chair of the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere.
Rep. Ros-Lehtinen also served on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and was a member of the CIA Subcommittee and the National Security Agency and Cybersecurity Subcommittee.
A strong proponent of education, Rep. Ros-Lehtinen holds multiple education degrees, including an Ed.D. from the University of Miami, and master’s and bachelor’s degrees from Florida International University. She began her career as a Florida certified teacher, and then founded, and served as the principal of, a private bilingual elementary school.
Ileana is the proud wife of Dexter Lehtinen, mother and step-mother to 4 adult children, and grandmother to five beautiful grandchildren – Morgan Elizabeth, Caroline Grace, Killian Marie, Dustin Winslow, and Javier Enrique.
In Spring 2019, her discussion group was: "Congressional Politics and American Foreign Policy."